Economy
U.S. wealth concentrated in hands of few
“The United States of Inequality” is the title of an article in Slate. “Economically speaking, the richest nation on earth is starting to resemble a banana republic,” explains Timothy Noah. “Income distribution in the United States is more unequal than in Guyana, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.” As in such Latin American countries as Uruguay, Argentina, and [...]
That word “collapse” keeps popping up
“That word, ‘collapse,’” writes Paul B. Farrell in MarketWatch, “keeps popping up in news and literature: Jared Diamond, anthropologist, in his best-selling ‘Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed’ … Hedge fund manager Barton Biggs in ‘Wealth, War and Wisdom’ warns of the ‘possibility of a breakdown of the civilized infrastructure’ … Financial historian [...]
Guest essay: Life after growth
Life after growth by Richard Heinberg What if the economy doesn’t recover? In 2008 the U.S. economy tripped down a steep, rocky slope. Employment levels plummeted; so did purchases of autos and other consumer goods. Property values crashed; foreclosure and bankruptcy rates bled. For states, counties, cities, and towns; for manufacturers, retailers, and middle- and [...]
The end of the era of American possibility
“We may be approaching the end of the era of American possibility,” writes Orville Schell in TomDispatch. He despairs over “the best” of America’s public educational institutions “driven into the ground thanks to devastating, repeated budget cuts; a national energy system . . . terminally strung out on oil and coal . . . the [...]
Feeling uneasy?
“An Uneasy Feeling” is the title of an op-ed by Bob Herbert in the New York Times. “Staggering numbers of Americans are still unemployed and nearly a quarter of all homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth,” he writes. “Forget the false hope of modestly improving monthly job numbers. The real [...]
Wall Street crooks under investigation
In “Banks Bundled Bad Debt, Bet Against It and Won,” New York Times reporters describe how Goldman Sachs and other financial firms earned billions and cost their customers trillions “creating mortgage-related securities . . . intended to protect Goldman from investment losses if the housing market collapsed. . . . Worried about a housing bubble, [...]
The economy is the least of our problems
Despite a non-stop barrage of overly optimistic press releases based on phony statistics, ongoing coverups of fraud, and tea readings, the economy is closer to complete collapse today than it was at this time last year. The truth that the spinmeisters dare not speak is that the gears of trade, from the ports of Asia [...]
$23.7 trillion giveaway to Wall Street
In “Obama’s Big Sellout,” Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi says “the president has packed his economic team with Wall Street insiders intent on turning the bailout into an all-out giveaway” which could ultimately cost taxpayers $23.7 trillion. “And while the government continues to dole out big money to big banks, Obama and his team . [...]
So, how are your kids doin?
“The American economy is broken, ruined by the greed and irresponsibility of fabulously wealthy corporate chieftains and their shabby acolytes and enablers in government,” writes Bob Herbert in the New York Times. He’s watching the Thanksgiving Day parade and thinking about all the kids in the crowd. “While Wall Street is handing out billions in [...]
15 Signs American Society Is Coming Apart at the Seams
AlterNet sees “15 Signs American Society Is Coming Apart at the Seams”: 1) Inequality of wealth unprecedented, 2) DOW hits 10,000 and big banks bailed out with taxpayer money give billions in bonuses, 3) Middle class collapsing, 4) While older workers lost big chunk of 401k needed for retirement, 400 richest Americans added $30 billion [...]
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